Welcome to the LAC + USC Medical Center Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery website. Our mission at LAC + USC Medical center is to provide accessible, affordable and culturally sensitive healthcare one person at a time. We believe it is important to treat each and every one of our patients with respect and compassion. The surgeons in our team perform: breast reconstruction, lower extremity reconstruction, craniofacial, hand surgery, complex wounds, and cleft lip and palate surgery. This website was created for you, our patients, to learn a little more about the surgeons and the services that our division provides. We hope you find the information provided useful.

Dr. Joseph N. Carey is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. His specialty is microvascular surgery, including breast reconstruction, head and neck reconstruction, extremity salvage, and hand surgery. He currently serves as the Service Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at LAC-USC Medical Center since 2011. Dr. Carey is certified by The American Board of Surgery. He is also a Member of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery and Plastic Surgery Research Council.
Dr. Carey is the Chief of Plastic Surgery and attending surgeon in the Burn Unit of the Los Angeles County Hospital. He directs the care of complex multisystem injuries, including critically injured adult and pediatric patients in the Burn Unit. He also directs the education of plastic surgery and general surgery residents, as the associate program director in plastic surgery.
In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Carey’s research interests include surgical education, breast reconstruction, and extremity salvage. He collaborates with colleagues from other disciplines as the Assistant Director of the USC Fresh Tissue dissection laboratory, where complex models of surgical simulation are used to educate surgeons of the next generation.
Dr. Carey’s education includes a general surgery residency at USC, and a plastic surgery residency at USC. He also completed a Microvascular surgery fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Carey received his medical degree from USC and his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. He also completed a master’s degree in Anatomy at USC.

Chief Residents Team

Dr. Erin Weber

Dr. Weber was born and raised in Middletown, Maryland. She attended Rice University for college and majored in Biochemistry. With strong interests in biological research and medicine, she completed the combined M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Southern California and studied ways to improve the safety of gene therapy. She then spent one year in general surgery training at Harbor-UCLA before joining the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency at USC. In keeping with her love of research, she added an additional three years to her residency for postgraduate research, studying tissue engineering of human hair follicles.

Dr. Weber is interested in microsurgery and hand surgery, particularly peripheral nerve injury. She plans to pursue a fellowship in hand surgery next year. Dr. Weber’s goal is to practice as an academic surgeon-scientist, combining hand surgery with research in peripheral nerve regeneration.

Dr. Daniel Gould

Dr. Gould earned his Bachelor of Science from UCLA and his combined medical degree MD and PhD in Bioengineering in an NIH sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University. During medical school, he pursued research interests in Tissue engineering and Developmental Biology and Molecular Biophysics under the guidance of Jennifer West and Mary Dickinson. During that time he developed scaffolds for tissue engineering and worked on a model for tissue engineering in vivo. He also worked with Dr. Kronowitz at MD Anderson Cancer Center during that time, developing several basic science and clinical research projects. His published work during medical school led to the Richard Dickason Outstanding Physician Scientist Award. He is very dedicated to education and mentoring of medical students and grad students. He is currently a resident in the Integrated Program of USC’s Division of Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Gould is passionate about patient care and providing the highest level of care. He knows that most his patients meet him after suffering trauma or when facing cancer or other life changing medical problems. He strives to connect with his patients and to make their lives and recovery better.

Dr. Gould has diverse interests and has published research and given presentations in aesthetic surgery, microsurgery, supermicrosurgery and lymphedema, maxillofacial and pediatric cleft surgery, ear reconstruction, pediatric ear fabrication surgery, hand surgery, breast reconstruction, lower extremity reconstruction and limb salvage, transgender surgery, and social media. He has a passion for education and mentorship and has mentored many students and residents.

Dr. Gould is a resident member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and American Society of Maxillofacial Surgery.

Dr. Kerry-Ann Mitchell

Dr. Mitchell is a Chief Resident in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at University of Southern California. She grew up in St. Ann, Jamaica and migrated to the US to attend Benedict College in Columbia, SC where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She then went on to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Utah, working in the Anticonvulsant Drug Development Program to develop a model of infection induced epilepsy. Following this she completed a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship in epilepsy research at Legacy Research Laboratory in Portland, OR. Wanting to pursue a lifelong goal of becoming a surgeon, she then matriculated at Stanford Medical School where she earned her Medical Degree.

Dr. Mitchell has a strong interest in academic plastic surgery and hopes to combine her background in epilepsy research and clinical plastic surgery to serve patients with neurological illnesses and concomitant craniofacial abnormalities. To this end, after residency she will be pursuing a fellowship in Neuroplastic and Reconstructive Surgery. With this unique background and expertise, Dr. Mitchell will be poised for an academic surgical career focused on education, innovation in research, and delivering quality surgical care in the U.S and abroad.

Dr. Philip Brazio

Dr. Brazio was born in Stanford, California and lived in several cities including Lisbon, Portugal. He attended Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore, Maryland, where he participated in an intensive fine arts program. He earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in German Language and Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park where he also competed on the Maryland Sailing Team.

He completed his medical degree at University of Maryland School of Medicine, and went on to residency training in General Surgery at University of Maryland Medical Center and the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. He devoted two years to preclinical research, during which he was involved with the clinical face transplant team and published extensively on strategies to decrease the immunosuppressive burden for face transplant recipients. He achieved board certification in General Surgery following the completion of his residency.

Dr. Brazio is currently pursuing his specialty training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and plans to complete a fellowship in Microvascular Surgery. Moving forward, he hopes to further the art and science of reconstructive surgery for patients with varied and challenging defects.

Nurse Practitioner

Debbie Gaytan-Wallace has been with LAC + USC Medical Center for the past 39 years. She has worked in various capacities in the field of Nursing in Critical Care, Educator and Management. She received a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from California State Los Angeles in Critical Care Nursing and a Masters of Science in Nursing as a Critical Care Specialist in Pulmonary Critical Care. She returned for a post graduate degree from the University of Southern California as a Family Nurse Practitioner and is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She was the recipient of numerous Nursing awards and has published scientific articles. Debbie is a Clinical Professor at the East Los Angeles College and at the University Of Southern California Los Angeles Department Of Nursing. Debbie provides comprehensive, coordinated and individualized care to clients with cranio-facial trauma, lower extremity trauma, cancer reconstruction and complex wound coverage. Debbie enjoys traveling with her husband and practicing as a licensed Esthetician.

THE RESIDENT COSMETIC CLINIC

The University of Southern California and LA County Hospital are leaders in cosmetic surgery and the plastic surgery community, which includes the USC Resident Cosmetic Clinic. This clinic pairs highly trained senior residents from the University of Southern California with experienced, well-regarded plastic surgeons in Los Angeles to provide high-quality, affordably-priced surgeries.

Residents in our clinic have completed at least five years of surgical training after medical school at some of the nation’s most elite academic institutions. Because the University of Southern California has one of the top plastic surgery programs in the United States, their residents are the next generation of leaders in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. We are dedicated to individualized patient care, cutting edge surgical technologies and beautiful surgical results.

YOUR CLINIC EXPERIENCE:

Our clinic is located in Dr. Jay Calvert’s state-of-the-art outpatient center. Your consultation takes place with a chief resident where discussion of goals, preoperative planning, procedure dates and fees are discussed. A consultation does not guarantee surgery.

PROCEDURES AND TREATMENTS

We offer a wide variety of procedures at a discounted price:

Nonsurgical Procedures

Botox

Collagen fillers (Juvederm)

Facial contouring (Kybella)

Surgical Facial Rejuvenation

Face lift

Nose jobs (rhinoplasty)

Eye lift (blepharoplasty)

Neck lift

Ear procedures/reconstruction (otoplasty)

Fat grafting

Breast

Breast implants (augmentation)

Breast lift (mastopexy)

Breast reduction

Male breast reduction (gynecomastia)

Body Contouring

Dr. Alex K. Wong is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with attending staff appointments at USC University Hospital and LAC+USC Medical Center. He specializes in microsurgical free tissue transfer for the management of complex wounds, breast reconstruction, as well as aesthetic surgery of the face, breast, and body. Dr. Wong is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery and is an Associate Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is also a Member of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery and Plastic Surgery Research Council. Dr. Wong was named one of Pasadena Magazine's Top Doctors for 2010 and 2011.

As a member of the full time USC faculty, Dr. Wong teaches the next generation of doctors and plastic surgeons. He serves as the Medical Student Preceptor for Plastic Surgery Clerkship at the Keck School of Medicine and is the Associate Director of the USC Microsurgery Fellowship.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Wong directs a research laboratory at the Keck School of Medicine of USC with focus areas in adult-derived stem cells for wound healing, molecular pathogenesis of silicone breast implant capsular contracture, and microvascular flap physiology. Dr. Wong has received multiple grants and awards from organizations such as the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and American Society for Maxillofacial Surgery. Recently, he was awarded grants from the Wright Foundation and the American Cancer Society for his research on stem cells. His work has been published in a variety of high impact peer reviewed journals.

Prior to joining the faculty at USC, Dr. Wong completed his Fellowship training at the NYU Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and completed his formal Plastic Surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Wong received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and is an honors graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences of Cornell University.

Ketan M. Patel, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. After receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami, FL, he completed his medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine. He then went on to complete a 6-year integrated residency in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he trained under world-renowned breast reconstructive surgeons, Drs. Scott Spear and Maurice Nahabedian. He then went on to complete the most highly coveted one-year reconstructive surgery fellowship at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, where he learned advanced techniques in breast reconstruction and lymphedema surgery. Dr. Patel’s clinic focus and expertise are in implant breast surgery, autologous flap reconstruction, oncoplastic breast reconstruction, and lymphedema surgery. He has published numerous articles and written several book chapters related to breast reconstruction, with many focused on patient-centered decision making using all available options for reconstruction. In addition, Dr. Patel’s research interests extend further to understanding the role of lymphedema surgery in improving a patient’s quality of life.

Dr. Regina Y. Baker is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. She is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. She has faculty appointments at USC University Hospital, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, LAC-USC Medical Center, Huntington Memorial Hospital, and Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Dr. Baker’s clinical interests include breast reconstruction, adolescent breast surgery, body contouring, complex reconstructive surgery, and all aspects of aesthetic surgery. She has special interests in women’s health and issues. Dr. Baker was named one of Pasadena Magazine’s Top Doctors of 2010.

Dr. Baker founded the Adolescent Breast Center (ABC) at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, where she treats a wide variety of congenital and adolescent breast disorders. She is also an attending staff at the Southern California Regional Burn Center at LAC-USC Medical Center. There she is involved in the management of acute burns, complex wounds, and burn reconstruction. Dr. Baker also works closely with the renowned Bariatric Surgeons of USC and offers a wide range of post-weight loss body contouring procedures.